This year’s Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference—or as many justly call it, summer camp for travel writers—kicks off Thursday in Corte Madera, California. If you’ve ever wanted to study travel writing with a host of accomplished writers and editors, this is the time and place. The four-day conference features classes and panel discussio […]

I’ll be moderating a panel on travel writing—Does Travel Writing Have a Place in the Age of Instagram and Google Earth?—at the AWP conference in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 2. I’ll be joined by World Hum contributors Tom Swick and Pam Mandel, as well as travel writer and novelist Janis Cooke Newman. If you’ll be at the conference, stop in and say hi! […]

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an archive of all the Chronic Wanderlust photos of the week…

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Aldous Huxley quotation scribbled on a random wall

I love Aldous Huxley.I admit it, if it was socially acceptable, I’d probably name my kid Aldous. If you haven’t read Brave New World, Point Counterpoint or Doors of Perception (okay, the latter was a bit heavy), you are missing out! Sure he was one of the most notable authors of our time, but he was also one of the greatest intellectual travel writers. Not to mention his dizzying number of essays and short stories. Read them.

I’ve spent the past couple days holed-up in an office in northern Virginia, trying to finish my Amsterdam guidebook. During a moment (err- hour) of procrastination, I stumbled across that photo…

“For every traveler who has any taste of his own, the only useful guidebook will be the one which he himself has written”

– Aldous Huxley

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Snowy Amsterdam

New Years eve 2009 was off to a snowy start… only a few centimeters fell, but luckily it was enough to add an extra flair to an already wonderful city.

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Southern Israel, 2009

The Negev desert in southern Israel runs along the Egypt border… I took this photo in January ’09 on a rather cold, but beautiful day, from atop a camel.

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Dusseldorf, Germany

We ended up in Dusseldorf by accident after arriving in Cologne and hating it… we had no map and no idea about where to go… we stumbled upon this waterfront on the Rhone River and enjoyed the trippy green lights.

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Gardens of Versailles, France

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Reflections of midtown Manhattan

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View of lower Manhattan with Lady Liberty in the background

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Mannequin Pis in Brussels, Belgium

The camera adds 10″… Mannequin Pis in Brussels is tiny! Located on a cobblestone alley in the heart of the old city is this statue of a boy peeing. I haven’t looked into the history, but you can pick up on its importance when you walk down the street and see stores named after it and postcards with cartoons peeing. We came across the statue by accident, in fact, it took me a minute to even register what it was – that’s how small it is. Imagine a cabbage patch doll standing on a 8ft. podium.

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Ben's Chili Bowl on U St. in Washington, DC

A Washington DC icon… serves up the BEST chili half-smokes in the world… it’s worth the after effects.

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The “Snowpocalypse” of 2010 dropped over 3 feet of the white stuff on Washington DC… the Reflecting Pool froze over and we walked across it and snapped this picture in the reflection of Katerina’s glasses.

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Gigantic snowball fight in Dupont Circle park during the Snowpocalypse of 2010 in Washington, DC

During the massive blizzard of 2010, Washingtonians assembled in Dupont Circle and had a MASSIVE snow ball fight. We stayed for a couple hours and launched dozens of icy snow balls at people. It was great fun, and even managed to get international news coverage!

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Christmas in Paris (photo: Eddie Mashke)

Eddie Mashke took this picture during Christmas 2009 in Paris. He strolled the Champs Elysees and enjoyed seeing all the French families buying last minute gifts. I guess some things really are international…

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A road sign in the hills outside of Jerusalem

Jerusalem in early 2009… spectacular, even during a war.

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Pompeii (photo: Eddie Mashke)

Eddie Mashke grabbed this shot during a trip through the ruins of Pompeii in Italy.

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Taxi speeding thru Times Square in NYC

NYC Taxi in Times Square… need I write more?

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Crossing the border from Texas

Taken at the border of Texas during the spring of 2010 on a trip to Carlsbad Cavern.

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James Pritchard's Land Rover in Moab, Utah

James Pritchard took this picture of his Land Rover after muscling his way to the top of this mountain… he had the guts to drive it out onto that ridge, with a 1,000+ ft. drop only a few inches away.
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Harpers Ferry, WV is only 1.5 hours outside of Washington DC… you can reach it by car (preferred) or Amtrak/MARC commuter train. The town is very small and tends to shut down during the winter, but it gets very active over the summer. The B&O Canal begins here, so it’s a great start/finish point for long distance hikers and bikers doing to DC. Right in the middle of town, the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet to form some pretty sweet white water… it’s a great place to go on a rafting trip with one of the dozens of tour operators.

Downtown Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

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Tzfat, a mountain town in northern Israel, is the epicenter of Israel’s art movement. One of the few Israeli cities that actually gets snow in the winter, Tzfat is home to many local and national artists and their galleries. I would say it’s like Israel’s San Francisco, but that’s only true topographically – tons of hills, steep roads and falafel joints – but it’s far from liberal.

My favorite part of the city is the instant coffee factory located on the outskirts of town – it makes the whole city smell like coffee (tea lovers beware, coffee lovers rejoice).

Tzfat, Israel

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Matt enjoys the finer things in life; speed, wind and sun! Sometimes acting like a kid is exactly what you need when you’re an adult…

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License plate said 1971

I came across this abandoned school bus left behind on a deserted runway somewhere north of Coyonosa, Texas. The old airstrip had been turned into a creepy auto graveyard sometime in the 1970’s, but hasn’t been touched since. There was something eerily beautiful about it.

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ChronicWanderlust contributor James Pritchard just finished his second road trip across north west Europe last month. He snapped this awesome shot in one of my favorite Parisian neighborhoods, Place de Republique.

Place de Republique at night (Photo: James Pritchard)

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This photo was taken by ChronicWanderlust contributor Jacob Pelham. He snapped it south of Sierra Blanca, in the Quitman Mountians, only 8 miles from the Mexican border in Texas.

Photo: Jacob Pelham

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This photo of Big Tex was taken by ChronicWanderlust contributor James Pritchard at the Texas State Fair. He welcomes people as they enter the Fair Grounds. This was taken Saturday 17 Oct 2009 during the Red River Shootout football game of Oklahoma vs Texas.

Photo: James Pritchard

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This photo was taken on I-90W entering into Idaho… probably one of the most scenic welcome signs I’ve ever seen!

Idaho

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You know you’re in for a good time when the welcome sign has bullet holes! I snapped this picture entering Montana from Wyoming on I-90W.

When there are bullet holes in the sign, you know you're in for a good time

For some, a romantic getaway means five-star luxury and poolside pampering. For others, it's all about glorious solitude and stunning scenery. And then there are the action-and-adventure lovebirds who prefer excitement and high-adrenaline sports over rest and relaxation.

Whop, whop, whop. The thump of the rotors fades as the helicopter lifts away. Silence, just for a moment -- a chance to drink in the pristine peaks. Then the rush of excited chatter as skis or snowboard are clicked on and the group turns to listen to the guide.